Birth Control Implants in New York City
Birth control implants are devices that go under a woman’s skin. They release a hormone that prevents pregnancy. The implant available in the U.S. is Nexplanon. The implant is a plastic rod about the size of a matchstick. It contains a form of the hormone progesterone called etonogestrel. Your doctor will inject medicine to numb your skin on your upper arm, where you’ll get the implant. That may sting a bit.
Then they’ll use a device that pushes the rod through a needle. That won’t hurt. It feels like a little bit of tugging. The insertion process may take less than a minute. Afterward, you should be able to feel the implant under your skin, but not see it.
Removing it can take only a few minutes or 20 minutes, depending on how much scar tissue has formed. Your health care provider numbs your skin and makes a tiny cut near the tip of the implant, then pulls it out. If you doctor can’t feel it under the skin, an X-ray can show if it’s in the right place.
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